Retailers Discuss the State of Print Music Sales in 2015

Perhaps no single MI product segment has been as radically transformed by the Internet age as print music.

With the advent of new avenues of delivery for sheet music and tablature, tablets, smartphones, and YouTube tutorials, the very notion of a humble piece of paper with notes and charts can seem like an artifact from another age – and, indeed, it is, but one with enduring appeal and upside for many end users.

In this month’s retailer survey, which went out to over 300 MI stores, we sought to see how the fast pace of technological advances are impacting the world of print music. While opinions were decidedly mixed with respect to digital downloads and the like, one very positive – a somewhat unexpected positive, at that – takeaway was that print sales are, at least according to these folks, doing pretty well. Over 70% of respondents reported that print sales for their retail operation are either up or level to numbers from last year. Read on for all the news that’s fit to print (get it?)…

Compared to this time last year, your store’s print music sales are…

Up: 36.8%

Down: 26.3%

Level: 36.9

“Comparing yearly total as of May 31st to a year earlier, print music sales are down 32.4%.”

Drew Parker
Separk Music
Lewisville, N.C.

“Piano and band methods are doing well, but sales of guitar folios are down [due to competition] from the Internet.”

Cheryl Kuhaupt
Hartford Music Center
Hartford, Wis.

How have digital delivery methods of sheet music and folios affected your print sales?

Print sales are down considerably: 15.7%

Sales have taken a hit, but nothing major: 55.3%

No affect whatsoever: 29%

“Nobody really tells me they’re getting their [sheet] music digitally.”

Dan Yadesky
Yadco Music
North Versailles, Pa.

“It is a wonderful addition to our offerings, as it helps us keep a closer eye on high velocity SKUs, but being able to offer basically all titles all day, everyday.”

Kristin Masarik
Heid Music
Appleton, Wis.

“We do hear it more every day: ‘We’ll just order it online.’”

Paul Lewis
Lewis Music Store
Kissimmee, Fla.

What genre of music is driving the most “new customer” traffic to your print music department in 2015?

Classical: 26.3%

Hip Hop: 2.6%

Pop: 50%

Rock & Roll: 13.2%

Jazz: 10.5%

Other: 39.47%

“Method books are still very big.”

Dana Treidel
Bethel Music Center, LLC
Bethel, Conn.

“Our classical inventory is extensive, with multiple editions of many popular works, but ukulele books have to be the quickest growing segment of our print music department.”

Jeff Simons
Watermelon Music
Davis, Calif.

“Beginning books are [doing] OK – band, orchestra, piano, anything for beginners. From that point on, customers buy from the Internet.”

John Handley
Roper Music
Grand Junction, Colo.

What percentage of your overall business does print music sales account for?

Less than 5%: 24.9%

6-15%: 50%

16-30%: 8.4%

31-50%: 8.3%

More than 50%: 8.3%

What publishers/brands sell the best for your store?

Hal Leonard: 97.4%

Alfred Music: 92.1%

Music Sales Group: 15.8%

Mel Bay: 26.3%

Sher Music: 2.6%

Carl Fischer: 18.4%

Warner/Chappell: 2.6%

Boosey & Hawkes: 13.2%

Shawnee Press: 5.3%

Neil A. Kjos: 63.3%

Schott Music: 5.3%

Edition Peters: 5.3%

Faber Music: 39.5%

Other: 10.5% (the majority of responses in this category, in order, were: Henle Urtext, Kendor, and Frederick Harris)

What larger trends have you been noticing in the market with respect to print music and digital/online avenues for sheet music?

“People order online direct and don’t come into a brick and mortar store.”

Wayne Seppala
Organ Stop, Inc.
San Diego, Calif.

“We utilize the Hal Leonard digital sheet music system for our customers. This eliminate the need for us to carry thousands of dollars in sheet music in stock… it also eliminates the dreaded ‘special order’ fiasco.”

Tim Bascom
Morgan Music
Lebanon, Mo.

“At our store we get a large call for method books for various instruments, as well as instrumental play-along. With the digital music, the trend runs towards popular songs from movies.”

Grace Schweizer
Martin Music
Newark, Ohio

“Publishers attempting to fuse printed music with online components. For example, instead of including an audio CD with a printed book, including a code to access online audio files and other expanded features that create a second way to experience and utilize the book.”

Eric Downs
PM Music Center
Aurora, Ill.

“I believe that – like with recorded music – people are willing to pay for music, provided it is high quality, convenient to search and print, and reasonably priced. Digital downloads have grown tremendously for us. Our biggest issue has been people coming in to browse our huge selection and then checking Amazon and other online sites once they find the edition they like to see whether they can get it cheaper.”

Jeff Simons
Watermelon Music
Davis, Calif.

“For the Brick & Mortar store the Note Station concept was by far the best [recent trend].”

Don Middleton
Don’s Music Land
Peoria, Ill.

“[Trends]: Self-publishing, direct to end user, band composers; Big publishers selling direct to end users! Cutting the throats of loyal dealers; Online discounters being encouraged by drop shipping publishers.”

Dennis Adcock
The Bandstand Ltd.
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

“The trend I’m noticing is the PDF sharing on ‘secret’ Facebook groups. I’m a member of these groups and when I see an opportunity I post a link to our website. Since the big boys seldom had the selection I needed, I built my own website to deliver our own publications by pdf download. Social media is driving my business now. If I cannot show up to deliver the product in seconds then someone’s friend will.”

Glendower Jones
Classical Vocal Reprints
Fayetteville, Ark.

“Most of our older customers do not trust the internet enough to download digital sheet music. Teachers still account for the majority of our print music sales.”

Terri Miller
Kudzu Music
Boone, N.C.

“Sales have remained strong with a slight increase. Having the digital music available has been a plus. We can satisfy our customer very quickly, impress them with our level of sophistication, and we don’t lose sales that we may have lost due to not having items in stock and the customer being not willing or able to wait.”

Mike Guillot
Mississippi Music, Inc.
Flowood, Miss.

“I see the decrease in artist folios as more customers use the Internet to get the music they need. Guitar Tab books, for the most part, have been replaced by YouTube tutorials.”

Spidey Mulrooney
The Music Shop
Southington, Conn.

“More and more stores do not want to handle print because it is time consuming and often difficult to merchandise. Competing with print requires large inventories and financing is difficult to obtain – something most publishers do not really appreciate.”

Mark Benassi
Lafayette Music
Lafayette, Colo.

“Digital will always be a nice supplement to print. Otherwise, I believe it’s business as usual.”

Evan Jones
Bandland
Clarksburg, W.V.